How to Live Healthy and Happy in 5 Easy Steps

Its a big statement. How to live healthy and be happy in 5 easy steps. My mum always said I was a healthy and happy kid. My siblings all hated me because I apparently got special treatment being the oldest and the best looking boy. (Haha!) My older sister didn’t agree but whatever mum said I took as gospel. Just don’t tell my other brothers about the ‘being the best looking’ comment. They do get a bit jealous. Especially Colin. By the way Col, thanks for those Levi jeans I stole, um… I mean borrowed when we were in our teens! How to live healthy and happy? It’s not easy!

Photo from Village of the Damned

How to live healthy and happy? Ok so I may get killed by my family for the below photo but it shows me on far right and my brother Colin far left. He is wearing the Levi jeans I was soon to acquire through illegal means. They did look better on me than him. Mum, dad, brother Andrew and sister Mandy make up this motley crew that was once used as stand in’s in the horror movie, Village of the Damned! (I made that up but we could have been!)

My older sister Linda and brothers Michael and Peter were off eating their chopped liver and didn’t make the cut for this magnificent photo (lucky them!)

Still shot from the movie Village of the Damned

Seems that in my siblings eyes I always got the steak, chips and vegetables while they got the chopped liver. It is important to note I was a growing boy (6ft 2 by high school) and needed the good healthy steak (did I really say healthy steak?) to aid my growing. When we all get together these days I am constantly reminded I was mum’s favourite. I look at it as being the one who took the initiative. There was steak enough for 3 so being the tallest I think it only fair that I got the 3rd helping.

I was also a real home body as a kid so had plenty of time to brain wash mum into understanding that my steak meal was really important. Anyway I am getting off topic a little here. Suffice to say I was not the favourite but I was the most annoying and manipulative. There. I said it.

Now what was I talking about?

Oh yes how to live healthy and happy? Not sure that statement stacked up when I was a kid but it does now.

My 3 Themes in Life

In my quest to answer the question how to live healthy and happy I found I have only 3 Themes in my life. You could call them goals but I don’t use goals anymore. I use Themes and Intentions. A theme is my plan for the year or for my life, and an intention is what I do daily to achieve it.

Here are my 3 Life Themes

Travel the world blogging, hiking and making videos

Being happy

Being healthy

Me and my daughter Ally hiking in New Zealand

How to live healthy and happy? That’s it. I don’t ask for much. The first theme is really taking off now. There were times I thought it would never happen but 2017 and 2018 are the years of real growth for me. I haven’t always been happy or healthy.

I have been to the depths on many an occasions and each time there were 5 things and only 5 things I did that got me back up again.

These 5 things I try to follow daily so I don’t go back down that slippery slope again. They are 5 practices that keep me happy and healthy.

How to Live Healthy and Happy

My life is now in a place where being healthy and happy are kind of a natural place to be. But I have to work at it even though it feels natural. I know if I neglect the practices I mention below I can quickly slip back into lows and depression. The good part is that the longer I do these on a regular basis the easier it gets. My body is taking them on as a habit. As I say how to be happy and healthy is a big question.

So here is what I do. If any of them interest you feel free to give them a try. All I know is that they work for me.

My Daily Practice aka How to Live Healthy and Happy

A) Healthy Food

Kevin Drinking Cabala Juice

How to live healthy and happy? What you eat is what you become. For me I strive each day to make sure 95% of my food is either fruit, vegetables or grains. I no longer eat meat. Sometimes I will eat some fish and I have cut out dairy. (The meat and dairy industry wont be happy but I want to live a long, happy and healthy life)

You really can’t expect to look and feel good if Coca Cola is your drink of choice. Everyone knows it is full of processed sugar. If you eat processed food regularly you will get diabetes, heart disease or cancerat some stage, maybe all 3! Eating healthy should be easy for people. Your body is your shrine. The mere thought of having to spend time in hospital with this or that disease is enough motivation to keep me moving in a healthy lifestyle mode permanently. I hope it motivates you too. Oh and I don’t eat steak anymore! To my siblings, the steak is all yours now 🙂

Remember you can’t be happy if you eat processed food all the time.

Here are some healthy eating ideas.

Aim for an 80% good food 20% bad food ratio. Higher if you have a disease (90/10 minimum)

Cut right back on dairy. You know all that mucus you keep coughing up? Thats from dairy.

Cut back on red meat. This known carcinogen is going to get you at some stage. Halve your intake or give it up for improved health.

Go through your pantry and throw out all the processed foods that are full of junk.

B) Exercise

Kevin at Parkrun

How to live healthy and happy? One of my favourite people Dr Wayne Dyer always said if your not growing your dying. I love that. If you are not moving your body and helping it get strong and flexible then you are killing it slowly.

Exercise is so important and yet I read often about diets that help you lose weight without having to exercise! What the? It’s crazy that people want to go on some outrageous diet and not exercise. Wake up call people – THESE DIETS DO NOT MAKE YOU HEALTHY! You may lose weight but you will not have a healthy body.

The simple act of going for a walk around the block every day will add years to your life. Lifting some light weights daily will help your bones and muscles. And yet still people are bone idle. I run at least 3 times a week and do gym 2 to 3 times. In fact eating healthy and exercise are highest on my hierarchy of values. I value my healthy, my mind and my body

For me it is pretty simple – Exercise or get ill. I know what I am going to keep doing. What kind of exercise regime do you use? Tell me in the comment section below.

That means if you hang with 5 armed robbers, you become the 6th. If you hang with 5 best selling authors and inspiring entrepreneurs, you become the 6th. If someone is intent on being a drag and negative I cut them. Quickly. I try to bring inspiring people closer and cut loose negative people. There is no breaking this rule. Husbands, wives, partners, siblings and friends. If you are a drain and negative you are gone. I am fortunate to have a lot of good positive people around me. It has taken some time to cultivate them but it is worth it.

Your emotions are ultra important to your happiness and well being. Don’t compromise!

D) Mental

How to live healthy and happy? Everyday I write down 10 ideas. Well…I have missed one or two days in the past 12 months if I am being honest. And I am always honest. Too much so sometimes! I certainly don’t take credit for this practice. James Altucher is a best selling author of many books and has owned and sold many businesses. He has won and lost millions over his lifetime. He gave me the 10 ideas a day practice.

Write down 10 ideas everyday.

The 10 ideas a day is simply that. Writing down 10 ideas every morning. They can be anything from business ideas to how to paint a house. The actual idea isn’t important it is the exercising of the idea muscle that is. When times are low and you have still been writing 10 ideas a day you will find a way out of your rut. You will come up with an idea to make money or help a relationship or find a way to get overseas for a holiday.

It works. Your life can change every 6 months if you commit to the 10 ideas a day. James once wrote down 100 alternative things kids can do other than go to college. Stuff like that keeps your mind active and makes you think hard. He says if you can’t think of 10 then think of 20!

I plan on visiting Spain regularly over the next few years. We do the Camino De Santiago pilgrims walk in April this year. Can’t wait! So I have been learning Spanish. Again it keeps my mind active and I know it is great for me mentally.

What Keeps Your Mind Active?

E) Spiritual

Meditation is my spiritual practice and life saver

How to live healthy and happy? I meditate twice a day, first thing in the morning, last thing before sleeping. I would be lost without my meditation. It has helped keep me sane for a long time. When I was around 10 years old I remember lying on the grass outside in the back yard looking up at the sky on a bright sunny day and thinking what was beyond the sky. I was asking myself what is out there? What lies beyond? So I have always had this spiritual side to me.

I believe in the universal energy that runs through all of us. I was bought up a Catholic but no longer follow any religion. Too many rules, lies, deception, wars, greed for money and abuse in religion. It’s a business and not a kind one. Just my opinion.

The power of meditation takes me to another place. A place in space where I am no longer a body, I have no ego, time stands still and it can heal me and change my life. It’s like magic but it’s real. It slows down my mind and as mentioned earlier, keeps me sane in an increasingly insane world. Read more about the power of meditation here.

How Healthy and Happy Are You?

How to live healthy and happy? Ok so that is what I do on a regular basis that keeps me on the straight and narrow. Keeps me sane, keeps me focused, keeps me loving life, loving travelling and loving being in the present moment.

A question for you. How Happy and Healthy are you? Do you wake up in the morning feeling energised and happy to be alive? Do you love your life? If not why not?

What can you do to change? Let me know in the comments below. I hope you all know now how to live happy and healthy but in reality many of you wont be. This present moment in history is a great time to be alive. So if you want to change maybe you could take on a daily practice and start getting healthy and happy in your mind, your body and your soul. It’s a great place to be!

Did you enjoy reading How to Live Healthy and happy in 5 Easy steps? If so leave a comment below and share this blog with your friends!

Hi Kev, Not sure if the comment I left a moment ago went through to you, so will leave another. I found your whole article great. Am sorry to learn of your heartaches’ and health issues. So please that you are well on the way to a healthier and happier life. Lauren and I have been very involved in natural healing and all kinds of therapies.For quite a while I have been putting tumeric into lots of the dishes I cook. Have not bought the supplements though.Will give them a try. Lauren has just published an article on Facebook which although is written for mothers who tend to neglect their own welfare, applies just as much to men. I would love you to read it and comment. It really goes with all you believe in. Many thank for this great article. Best wishes, Jill

Hi Kev, Another fabulous article. So many positives to take away. Lauren and I have always been very health conscious and love reading and learning about healthy living. Am sorry you had to go through really bad things in your life to get to where you are today. I imagine we all have rough patches, one way or another. Have been adding tumeric to almost all my dishes as I believe in its healing powers too. Lauren has written a great article which appears in Facebook today. It is written for Mothers to take better care of themselves. To me it should also be for fathers and would love you to read it and see what you think. Best wishes, Jill

Thanks so much for that. I will have to find Lauren on Facebook and have a look at the article. Yes living healthy and being happy is what living is all about I think. The turmeric is definitely a very healing food for your body no doubt. We all have obstacles along the way and I think by looking at the positives and the blessings we can come out the other end a lot better! Blessings to you Jill,

Kev, I read this from start to finish, then I took a moment. And then I read it again. You have some really powerful stuff here!

So the first thing – themes and intentions. This represents quite a shift in thinking from how most of us are traditionally trained, which is to think in terms of goals and objectives. I really love the idea of daily intentions, together with the idea of 10 ideas daily. I have previously written a post about setting effective goals. You have inspired me to rethink and potentially reframe that in to setting themes and intentions to cover off the emotional aspect to the achievement of goals and the ‘why’.

Meditation is truly powerful and unfortunately I have gotten out of the routine of doing it. You have inspired me to try and build that back in to my day.

Kev I truly enjoyed reading this post and I must thank you for sharing your story (including that fabulous family photo!!). I will most definitely be a regular visitor to this site.

Thanks so much. Glad you got so much out of it. I love my daily intentions now and I am in the middle of a 14 day fast so going day to day is far better than looking at the 14th day and getting depressed haha! Meditation is a must for me as it calms me and takes me to another place. Thanks for a great comment on how to live healthy and be happy Melissa, cheers,

Hi Kevin. I went through a rough patch of depression, mainly because of work and the circumstances in life. before I looked at your blog, I already started to eat the right kind foods (we got a new juicer so I will definitely try that out for now on) and I do a half hour walk everyday. My mental health has improved since I got talking to work colleagues whereas I was kept away working somewhere but now I have been moved closer to humanity in work. We are social species so we are created to be part of humanity. No matter what, we can’t escape that. Meditation is the one area I will start on that. Thanks for sharing your daily practices. I take some of these on board and apply them to my own life,
Cheers 🙂

Great to hear your working life has improved. Yes I often work away from home on my own and at home too and its always good to get back amongst work colleagues. Meditation will help you no end! Definitely get into it. And the juicing will get you healthy quickly. All the very best my friend,

Cabala juice is carrot, apple, beetroot and lemon. Delicious and nutritious. All my research tells me meat is a carcinogen. Not meant to be eaten. Just my opinion. If people want to eat it thats fine with me. Just not my choice. I am super fit too and don’t eat meat…go figure haha!

Fantastic advice! I was just listening to a podcast with Dr. Joel Fuhrman, and he really opened my eyes up to what junk food, animal protein and dairy does to the body. He said the same thing that you did that it’s while you may think “Oh, I would rather have fun eating anything I want now and die earlier than to eat healthy”, but when you’re sitting in the nursing home not able to move one side of your body, or are suffering from dementia, you would think completely differently.

Food and nutrition (and restricting it through fasting!) is so important for not just our physical health, but our mental health as well. Dr. Fuhrman also talked about how eating food that doesn’t have nutrients can cause depression. We’re not getting all the right nutrients into our bodies and brains, then we feel bad which makes us want to eat more, and it’s a terrible vicious cycle.

People have to decide to want to change, to make their lives better, to feel good, to enjoy the magic of life. It’s easily achievable, as you’ve mentioned. 5 easy steps. Thanks for spreading the word and letting people know that life can be really good!

– Christina

P.S. I’m pretty sure there’s a picture or two of my own sibling Motley Crew similar to yours. They can keep all the steak too! (Although, about 3 out of 4 of them wouldn’t eat it either.)

We do all have a motley crew picture somewhere haha! I will have to check out that podcast. Sounds great. I know a lot of people who now regret not living for the future who just ate junk all their lives and are now suffering. Its crazy but all we can do is try and lead people in the right direction. How to live healthy and be happy is not rocket science. Thanks for your inspiring comments,

WOw, such a nice and easy 5 tips to live a happy life and for this we all need piece of mind, healthy diet, exercise and a good group of good friends. The best thing is to have a group of real and good friends rather than social media ones. I really love the way you have mentioned and explained all these five points.

Yes 5 tips if followed that can change your life. Good positive friends are so important. When we hang with negative people we become one of them. So many people do that how to live healthy and be happy is really a lifestyle change. Thanks for calling by,

This is a wonderful article and excellent tips. I agree every one of these five steps is equally important if we want our life to be happy and healthy. I’m actually doing well except for the intake of meat, which I’m trying to reduce as much as possible and the second thing that needs change is exercise. I love walking but I’ve never been fond of exercising. This article made me think about developing that habit. Thanks for the inspiration!

Yes exercise is really important. It is probably number one in my values list. Healthy and happy are states I love being in haha! Glad you are trying to reduce meat. I feel much better without it. Thanks for calling by and let me know how you go with the exercise! 🙂